The Red Hours is Evan Dicken’s longest Black Library story to date, an Age of Sigmar novella set in a bleak outpost in Chamon, the Realm of Metal. Disgraced and discredited in the eyes of his Freeguild commanders, Captain Byrun Hess is unceremoniously posted to the ominously named Grave of Heroes, where he finds his new command to be somewhat smaller and less orderly than he’s used to. When a brutal shardstorm sweeps in out of nowhere and forces them into hiding, Hess and his newfound comrades quickly find themselves facing much more than just the natural dangers of Chamon.
So far Dicken seems more interested in the fringes and history of Age of Sigmar than its headline races or characters, which is great for us as readers because it gives us the chance to read about unusual locations, characters and stories. In this case he’s focusing very much on ‘ordinary’ mortal characters – skilled and capable for sure, but still mortal – trying to cope when their world is turned upside down by something entirely beyond their awareness. These are characters to whom a Stormcast Eternal is a being of awe and reverence, and who know almost nothing of the specifics of Chaos, or the history of their world. That makes things beautifully relatable, and helps maintain a sense of scale to the Mortal Realms that isn’t always apparent.
Really it’s a story about pride balanced out by fear, and how trust can be eroded and manipulated even when survival is at stake. After the initial setup, in which we’re introduced to Hess as the main protagonist and then his newfound companions at the Grave of Heroes, the plot rapidly escalates into a tense, claustrophobic conflict as a brutal crime sets the characters at each other’s throats. After that it mostly follows the tried and tested pattern for this sort of story, with action aplenty and a gradually-revealed mystery at the heart of everything. It’s a well-trodden path, but executed very well and contained within a story which feels entirely appropriate for Age of Sigmar yet still somehow fresh and exciting.
Overall there’s a satisfying balance here between plot, characters and setting, with everything nicely tied in together. Sure it’s only short, so there’s no time to dig too deeply into the characters and their backstories, but Dicken manages to factor in enough telling, interesting details about each of the characters to flesh them out a little and leave you wanting to know more about them, while this obscure little corner of Chamon feels vivid and detailed, and ripe for further exploration. It really is a cleverly constructed and nicely written little story, which grips you from the off and delivers a darkly satisfying conclusion, while also emphasising Dicken’s promise – he’s definitely one to watch for Age of Sigmar fans.
The Red Hours is book 8 in the Black Library Novella Series 1. You can read reviews of the rest of this series by following this link.
Check out the main Age of Sigmar reviews page on Track of Words.
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